688 



The Review of Reviews. 



THE ITALIAN REVIEWS. 



The Rassegna Contemporanea, undoubtedly 

 one of the most readable of Italian magazines, 

 announces that in the New Year it will appear, 

 like other important foreign reviews, fortnightly 

 instead of monthly. The November issue con- 

 tains a very bitter anti-Austrian article by A. 

 Dudan, asserting that the whole military party 

 in Austria, with the Archduke Francis Ferdinand 

 at its head, is aggressively anti-Italian, and 

 attributing to them the many insults and disad- 

 vantages of which Italian residents in .the Aus- 

 trian Empire are said to be the victims. The 

 Senator, R. Carafa d'Andria, writing im- 

 mediately before the war on the possible dis- 

 ruption of the Turkish Empire, points to 

 Albania and the Yemen as the provinces in the 

 future of which Italy is most directly interested. 

 Italy, he declares, has no territorial aspirations 

 over Albania, but will insist on its integrity — 

 between Vienna and Rome there is a complete 

 understanding on that point. Further east he 

 anticipates that Italy, " with Lybia, Erithrea 

 and Benadir, will become an Oriental and 

 Mussalman Power " in a degree at least com- 

 parable to England and France, and evidently 

 regards the Yemen as offering the most favour- 

 able arena for Italian colonial expansion. 



The Nuova Antologia publishes a number of 

 articles dealing with the situation in the 

 Balkans, all naturally inspired by sympathy with 

 the Allies. Prof. Corrado Ricci describes the 

 remarkable visit paid by Gentili Bellini to Con- 

 stantinople in 1480 in order to paint the portrait 

 of its conqueror, Mahomet II., a visit from 

 which he returned with sketches of Oriental 

 costumes which were unblushingly copied by the 

 painters of his day. Two of the most note- 

 worthy sketches are now in the British Museum. 

 Prof. G. Del Vecchio protests against the 

 dehberate Germanisation of the Romansch- 

 speaking cantons in Switzerland, and the total 

 banishment of Italian from the Communal 

 schools. The deputy, E. Faelli, discussing the 

 approaching elections under the new electoral 

 law, prophesies a moderate increase in the 

 ranks of Catholic deputies, and a decided 

 increase in the Socialist representation if the 

 present quarrel between the moderate and the 

 revolutionary sections is patched up, as it pro- 

 bably will be. The Republicans, he thinks, will 

 almost disappear, while the prospect of moderate 

 Liberalism seem to him still nebulous. 



In the Riforma Sociale M. Weigmann 

 describes the various forms of insurance against 

 unemployment which have been tried in Switzer- 

 land, where the initiative is taken not by the 

 Federal Government, but by the individual 

 cantons. The result so far is discouraging. 



Among voluntary systems only that at Berne 

 has been a moderate success, and the obligatory 

 insurance system introduced at St, Gall in 1895 

 proved an utter failure, partly owing to unprac- 

 tical administration, but mainly to its extreme 

 unpopularity with the working classes. 



The Rassegna Nazionale for November 15th 

 contains the first part of a study, based on un- 

 published letters, of the strange career of the 

 beautiful Countess Castiglione, sent to Paris by 

 Cavour to captivate Napoleon III. and keep him 

 faithful to the interests of Piedmont. In its 

 political notes the Rassegna demands " Albania 

 for the Albanians," and agrees with Austria in 

 protesting against a Servian port on the Adria- 

 tic ; on the other hand, the Editor declines to 

 allow Austria any economic privileges in the 

 Balkans that are not shared bv Italv. 



CHRISTMAS NUMBERS. 



The Strand double number presents a for- 

 midable appearance with its record-breaking 

 advertisement section in front of the literary 

 matter, which, when discovered, is likely to 

 please the innumerable readers of this the first of 

 the popular monthlies. 



The Quiver has excelled itself ; printing and 

 paper of the best and many coloured plates 

 together make a notable number. This issue 

 contains a short article from the pen of our late 

 editor, and is entitled " Some Christmases I 

 Have Known. " 



The Lady's Realm is very smart in its 

 coloured cover and is freely illustrated. 



Munsey's Magazine for December can be 

 obtained at the usual price of sixpence and 's 

 sterling value. We are glad to get a glimpse of 

 the Navy of the United States in the article 

 giving an account of the October Naval Review. 

 Children of all ages will enjoy reading " Long 

 Live the King," by Mary Roberts Rinehart. 



Round Table mentions the report of the Royal 

 Commission on the cost of living in New Zea- 

 land, which finds that there has been an actual 

 increase of about 20 per cent, and that the rise 

 in wages has not only preserved the old standard 

 of living at the increased prices, but has added 

 considerably to the comforts and common 

 luxuries consumed. For the last two years the 

 accelerated rise in the prices of food and other 

 necessaries has outstripped the rise of income 

 and wages. 



